The council has ordered the complete reversal of an unauthorised Green Belt development – seemingly to build a car park.

Three Rivers District Council wrote to the owner of a patch of land in Station Road, Kings Langley, after it discovered “significant re-grading” of the area had been carried out without planning permission, with a view to install a car park.

The plot, directly opposite Kings Langley station and behind Flowerhouse florist, has been surrounded by solid timber fencing obscuring outside view since works began in early September.

A council site inspection on October 12 revealed “significant re-grading of the land coupled with the laying of hard-core” to “facilitate parking of vehicles”.

A CCTV tower had also been installed, which, “by virtue of its size”, would also require planning permission.

Three Rivers determined that because the land is intended for the storage of vehicles there would be a visual impact that does not preserve the “openness of the Green Belt” and is therefore “inappropriate and harmful”.

The landowner was told to remove the hard-surfacing and CCTV structure and return the land to its former state, and to remove all other materials used in the re-grading, by November 12.

One person from the area who did not want to be named said: “Every law abiding homeowner, must apply for permission to carry out works, even when the works are within the law.

“Our Green Belt land should be protected and celebrated, not destroyed.”

Leader of the Three Rivers District Council, Sara Bedford, said: “The council takes a dim view of those who flout the rules and try to develop by the back door.

“We have already issued a letter to the landowner, requiring them to stop the development and to return the land to its original condition or to submit a planning application for formal assessment. If this is not done within the next month, the council will be seeking to take enforcement action.

“I hope that the landowner will comply with the letter sent and return this Green Belt land to its previous state.”

In the last week, a sign was put up close to the works drawing attention to it by an anonymous person.

A Google image of the area